With so many fallen breadfruit and banana trees and damaged taro plantations, Samoa will face a food shortage in the next few months but people can take action now to help save planting materials.
3 January 2012

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Save Tree Cuttings For Future Harvests

Cut a branch and plant it is the message from Women in Business.

With so many fallen breadfruit and banana trees and damaged taro plantations, Samoa will face a food shortage in the next few months but people can take action now to help save planting materials.

Women in Business organic officer Pule Toleafoa says people should be using the branches of fallen trees to create root stock instead of chopping or burning the entire tree.

“If the banana tree has fallen on the ground with almost ripe fruit, do not remove the leaves but you must cover the banana bunches and allow to ripen normally otherwise they will get sunburnt.

“With breadfruit trees, you must cut six feet above roots and at the join where the branches grow,” says Toleafoa.

“Cocoa, orange, lime and lemon can be cut two feet and upwards from the root and you can just put these branches in the ground.”

Toleafoa adds the seeds from the ripe cocoa pod can also be used for replanting, “but only use the seeds from the middle of the pod not the sides”.

“Air layering is another technique to boost rootstock materials of certain trees that farmers can do after some easy instruction.”

Coconuts should be replanted using fallen nuts.

Regarding the burning of fallen leaves, Toleafoa says that the leaves should not be burned but used for mulch – fallen leaves and plant material placed near growing plants as food – or put in a compost heap.